Domitian |
Domitian | |||||||||
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Bust of Domitian, in the | |||||||||
Reign | 14 September 81 – 18 September 96 | ||||||||
Predecessor | |||||||||
Successor | |||||||||
Born | 24 October 51 Rome | ||||||||
Died | 18 September 96 Rome | (aged 44)||||||||
Burial | Rome | ||||||||
Wife |
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Issue | son (80–83) | ||||||||
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Father | |||||||||
Mother |
Domitian (
Domitian had a minor and largely ceremonial role during the reigns of his father and brother. After the death of his brother, Domitian was declared emperor by the
Domitian's reign came to an end in 96 when he was assassinated by court officials. He was succeeded the same day by his advisor
Domitian was born in Rome on 24 October 51, the youngest son of
Decades of civil war during the 1st century BC had contributed greatly to the demise of the old aristocracy of Rome, which a new Italian nobility gradually replaced in prominence during the early part of the 1st century.[6] One such family, the Flavians, or gens
Nevertheless, Petro managed to improve his status by marrying the extremely wealthy Tertulla, whose fortune guaranteed the upward mobility of Petro's son
The
By all appearances, the Flavians enjoyed high imperial favour throughout the 40s and 60s. While Titus received a court education in the company of Britannicus, Vespasian pursued a successful political and military career. Following a prolonged period of retirement during the 50s, he returned to public office under Nero, serving as
That same year Jews from the
Of the three Flavian emperors, Domitian would rule the longest, despite the fact that his youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his older brother. Titus had gained military renown during the
By the time he was 16 years old, Domitian's mother and sister had long since died,[14] while his father and brother were continuously active in the Roman military, commanding armies in
He received the education of a young man of the privileged senatorial class, studying
Unlike his brother Titus, Domitian was not educated at court. Whether he received formal military training is not recorded, but according to Suetonius, he displayed considerable marksmanship with the bow and arrow.[20][21] A detailed description of Domitian's appearance and character is provided by Suetonius, who devotes a substantial part of his biography to his personality:
He was tall of stature, with a modest expression and a high colour. His eyes were large, but his sight was somewhat dim. He was handsome and graceful too, especially when a young man, and indeed in his whole body with the exception of his feet, the toes of which were somewhat cramped. In later life he had the further disfigurement of baldness, a protruding belly, and spindling legs, though the latter had become thin from a long illness.[22]
Domitian was allegedly extremely sensitive regarding his baldness, which he disguised in later life by wearing wigs.[23] According to Suetonius, he even wrote a book on the subject of
Historian Brian Jones concludes in The Emperor Domitian that assessing the true nature of Domitian's personality is inherently complicated by the bias of the surviving sources.[25] Common threads nonetheless emerge from the available evidence. He appears to have lacked the natural charisma of his brother and father. He was prone to suspicion, displayed an odd, sometimes
This ambiguity of character was further exacerbated by his remoteness, and as he grew older, he increasingly displayed a preference for solitude, which may have stemmed from his isolated upbringing.[15] Indeed, by the age of eighteen nearly all of his closest relatives had died by war or disease. Having spent the greater part of his early life in the twilight of Nero's reign, his formative years would have been strongly influenced by the political turmoil of the 60s, culminating with the